HAGAR: SEEN BY GOD

When we first meet Hagar, she is in enslaved by Abram and Sarai. She is a woman of African descent and was likely purchased as a servant while in Egypt during a famine.

As you might recall, Sarai has suffered from infertility for decades. At one point, she becomes so obsessed with having a baby that she decides to use Hagar as a potential surrogate. She figures if she can't conceive a baby, then maybe her servant can have a baby for her.

🫃🏾SURROGACY IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

According to the Jewish Women’s Archive, offering a female slave to one’s husband for the purpose of childbearing was relatively common practice in the Ancient Near East.

“This practice of surrogacy can be found in a number of ancient Near Eastern texts…In the world of the Ancient Near East, a slave woman could be seen as an incubator, a kind of womb-with-legs.” (Frymer-Kensky)

Sarai follows her culture's norms and tells Abram to have sex with Hagar, and see what happens. Abram obliges his wife's wishes.

Our hearts should break for Hagar as she has no say in this decision, no right to refuse, and no rights to the baby should she conceive. 💔

Not surprisingly, in no time at all, Hagar is found to be with child. And even less surprisingly, the intense emotions surrounding this long-awaited conception create a lot of conflict that is the stuff of blockbuster movies.

😳 IT'S JUST EMOTIONS, BABY!

Sarai's suspicions are confirmed when she realizes (maybe for the first time?) that the reason she and Abram are childless is due to her inability to conceive. Prior to this, their lack of children could be due to either of them. Now, it's clear that she is the barren one. She becomes insanely jealous of and resentful towards Hagar. All this negativity crowds out any joy or excitement about the pregnancy.

Hagar’s emotions are understandably quite different from Sarai's. Aside from feeling violated by her owners—emotionally by one, physically by the other—Hagar realizes her status in the family has shifted.

Technically, Hagar remains a servant...but she is also carrying Abram’s heir. Although the baby should eventually be considered Sarai’s, at this moment in time, the baby is 💯 hers: This is Hagar's body and Hagar's baby.

This reality provides her a sense of self-worth, entitlement, and a new level of confidence she’s never before experienced.

🍼 BABY MAMA DRAMA

This long-awaited pregnancy ignites a rivalry between Hagar and Sarai that results in extremely strained relations between the two of them. Abram's complete loyalty and deference to Sarai combined with his utter indifference towards Hagar means Sarai is free to treat Hagar however she wants—and the situation deteriorates rapidly.

Sarai is extremely harsh on Hagar to the point that she'd rather try going it on her own than stay there. So she runs away. Pregnant. Alone. To the desert. What is she thinking?

Hagar makes her way to a natural spring, and there she meets a messenger of the LORD, an angel. He directs her to return home and endure the harsh treatment because she will bear a son. The angel promises that her descendants will be greatly increased, and he makes a proclamation about the baby she is carrying:

And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;

    you shall call him Ishmael,

    for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.

He shall be a wild ass of a man,

with his hand against everyone,

    and everyone’s hand against him,

and he shall live at odds with all his kin.”

Genesis 16:11-12 (NRSV)

For the first time (in her life?), Hagar feels seen for who she is and no longer feels alone. This is a totally new experience for Hagar, and her response is to do something that NO ONE ELSE in the Bible does: She gives God a name. Hagar calls him “El Roi” which means “the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).

Did you know that the only person in the Bible to give God a name was a woman? A single mom? A woman of color? A slave?

This encounter at the spring changes the trajectory of Hagar's life. She returns home, bears a son, and names him Ishmael. Everyone, including Abram and Sarai, is under the assumption that Ishmael will inherit everything...until a decade-ish later. That's when Sarah becomes pregnant with the son of promise: Isaac.

Once Sarah’s son is born, everything changes. She wants nothing more to do with Hagar or Ishmael and insists on their their banishment. She no longer has any need for them and perceives them as a threat to her own son. She demands that Abraham send them away, and he complies.

It really is interesting to witness just how much power the women wield over matters of the heart and home. It doesn’t matter that Abraham has raised Ishmael and loves him dearly: Sarah gets what Sarah wants.

🐫 BACK TO THE DESERT

Once again, we see Hagar leave the safety of her home and head back to the desert on her own. This time, she's given very little in the way of provisions and leaves with her son at her side. The bread and water don't last long at all, and with no water in sight, Hagar is convinced they are going to die.

She leaves her son laying down under a bush, out of the direct sunlight, and sits a small distance away from him. This way, she can see him, but not so close as to watch him die. She is desperate. Has it all come down to this? They're going to die in the desert? She breaks down and cries.

In this particular scene, God responds—not to Hagar's cries—but to the voice of her son. God hears Ishmael and remembers the promise to make him a great nation. He opens her eyes to see exactly what she needed: a nearby well of water which would save them both.

For Hagar, He is the "God who sees me." Who is God to you? If you were to give God a name based on your experience with Him, what would it be?

CONCLUSION

Hagar is a compelling figure in the Bible. Her story of oppression, sexual abuse, and deep emotional trauma exposes the dark side of the Abraham and Sarah saga.

And yet, despite the abuse she suffers at the hands of her “owners,” Hagar finds hope in the God who sees her. She never gives up. She's an inspiration and one incredibly resilient woman. 

You can read Hagar's story in Genesis 16-21. She is also alluded to in Galatians 4.

INTERESTING TIDBIT FROM ISLAM

Hagar (or "Haqar") is actually a key figure in Islam. She is considered the founder of Mecca and is an ancestor of the prophet Mohammed. In the Qu’ran, there are more details about this wilderness experience. After their provisions are gone, and Ishmael cries of thirst, Hagar desperately runs between two hills looking for water. She does this seven times, wearing herself out. At this point, the angel appears stating that God heard Ishmael’s cry.

“After trying seven times, as she [Hagar] lay despondent, Angel Gabriel appeared to her, told her that God had heard Ishmael cry and with his wingtip struck the ground open to allow a miraculous spring of water to gush forth…This well of water became the bloodline of Mecca converting it into a hustling town and eventually leading to the development of a new world civilization.” (WISE)

During Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, Muslims reenact Hagar’s desperation or “striving” by walking fast from one hill to the other seven times “in honor of Hagar’s sacrifice,” and then they drink water from the well which continues to run even in present times (WISE). You can watch a video of this interesting Islamic ritual here. Note that the whole route is now enclosed in a large building and the hills are protected from the crowds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUAv7K_VphE

Additional Resources:

• All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen

• “Genesis.” Women’s Bible Commentary, 3^rd ed. Edited by Carol A. Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe, Jacqueline E. Lapsley

• “Hagar: Bible” in The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women (online) by Tikva Frymer-Kensky ,updated by Tamar Kamionkowski.

• “Hajj and Hagar.” Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality.



• Interlinear Hebrew Bible - https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.16.13?lang=bi&aliyot=0

Photo Credits:

Photo of woman smiling by Loren Joseph on Unsplash.

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